TiVo Roamio DVRs Preview

Am I the only one surprised that TiVo is still a thing? I know I can't be. I remember pre-TiVo days. When the best you could hope for was a cable connection (there weren't boxes back then) or antenna connected to a VCR. You'd set your timer for when your favorite shows were scheduled were to run. If your show was pushed back by something (sporting event usually), you'd see the first half or so before it'd cut out. Back in those days, being able to program your VCR was the yardstick we used to judge your tech-savviness.

TiVo promised to make VCRs a thing of the past.

The ODVR (Original DVR), TiVo hasn't released a new product in quite some time. The new Roamio (wherefore art thou) looks to replace not just your DVR, but many of the other boxes in your home theater. If TiVo is to be believed, their new Roamio boxes will take you from four or five boxes down to two - a TiVo and a Blu-ray player. Let's take a closer look.

The feature sets of the three different Roamio boxes are quite similar. To start with, they are standalone DVRs that can be used with your existing cable subscription. They do this via a CableCARD and the standard coax connection (you won't have to rent a DVR from your cable provider anymore but they may charge you for the CableCARD). All the Roamio boxes can stream many of the popular services including Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and Pandora. They all have built-in WiFi though you can connect via Ethernet for a faster connection. All of the Roamio solutions have expandable storage options, a new interface (that can't be accessed by older TiVo boxes), and full HD (1080p) and 5.1 (Dolby Digital) support.

The TiVo Roamios come in three flavors - Roamio (I wish they had called this "basic" or "starter" or something), Roamio Plus, and Roamio Pro (my spell check hates this article). The Roamio Plus and Pro have a lot in common so I'll lump them together. They are cable-only boxes (designed to work with cable services), have large hard drives, and six tuners. The six tuners mean you can record up to five things at the same time while watching a sixth or you can stream (or just turn it off) and record all six. The Plus and Pro boxes have not only HDMI outputs but also component and composite video as well as analogue audio. The Plus has a one terabyte drive (up to 150 hours of HD recording) while the Pro has a whopping three terabytes (up to 450 hours of HD). Built in to the Pro and the Plus Roamio boxes is the ability to throw the recorded content to your mobile device. Currently this is limited to iOS devices though Android support is surely on the horizon. TiVo also promises that they'll support throwing live TV to your mobile device (like Aereo) though I wouldn't hold your breath on that one.

The "bottom of the line" Roamio (basic) is a bit different. It can accept a CableCARD like the bigger brothers, but can also accept an OTA (Over the Air) antenna input. It seems that it is a "one or the other" thing as there is only a single Coax input. The Roamio has a smaller 500 gigabyte driver for a maximum of 75 hours of HD recording and is limited to four tuners. Like the others, it can throw content to your mobile device but it needs to be paired with TiVo's Stream box to do it ($129 extra). The Roamio (basic) can only connect to your system via HDMI and lacks any other type of output. 

When you put it all together, what you get is not only a better cable box with a bigger (expandable) DVR and better user interface, but a streaming box that can connect wirelessly to your network to stream all your favorite services, stream content from your local source, throw content to your mobile device, and perhaps even send live TV to your mobile device. Depending on your cable service, it may even be able to access your On Demand content. For those cord cutters out there, that's a Slingbox, Roku, AppleTV/GoogleTV, and DVR in one. There is tons more to the TiVo package including an app that allows you to adjust and control your TiVo from anywhere in the world, HTML5 optimization for better YouTube and Netflix streaming, and a remote that can control via RF or IR for the ultimate in flexibility.

Of course, the TiVo Roamio boxes require a subscription to TiVo's service to work. A one year subscription will run you $14.99 a month or you can get a lifetime subscription for $500. This is on top of the cost of the box (TiVo Roamio is $199.99, the Roamio Plus is $399.99, and the Roamio Pro is $599.99. Add $500 to that for the service and you're looking at $700 to $1100 out of pocket. Those that have used a TiVo, however, will quickly tell you that the interface is unparalleled on the market. I would remind them of cognitive dissonance, though they are probably too busy trying to make sure their TiVo knows who they are.

Conclusion

TiVo has always been expensive and that hasn't changed with the new Roamio boxes. If you are a true cord-cutter, the straight Roamio will be for you. This is the only one that has support for OTA. At $200, it isn't the cheapest solution (and only has a 500 gig drive) but it will also stream your favorite services and, with a $130 peripheral, throw content to your iOS device (and hopefully Android soon). With four tuners, the famous TiVo interface, an IR/RF remote, and expandable storage, you may think it is worth it. If you have a cable service but want more than just the crappy DVR your provider offers, the Roamio Plus (1 terabyte) or Pro (3 terabyte) solutions are for you. They can location displace their content (and soon live TV) out of the box, have analogue connections, and feature two additional tuners (up to six). The kicker, of course, is the TiVo service cost. At $14.99 a month or $499.99 for a lifetime, it significantly increases the cost of the solution. While I would normally say this would scare people off, it hasn't so far. What's to say it will now?

For more information, please visit www.tivo.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.